This easy bakery style Cherry Danish recipe is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth! Flakey puff pastry with a sweet cream cheese and tangy cherry filling, then drizzled with a sweet sugar icing.
If you love puff pastry desserts, make my Starbucks Cheese Danish or my Dubai Chocolate Pastries! LINK
CHERRY DANISH
Craving a bakery style flaky pastry? This homemade cherry Danish recipe is a must-try! A buttery, flakey puff pastry dough with a sweet cream cheese and cherry filling, topped with a sweet sugar glaze. These Danishes are the perfect way to start your day or satisfy your sweet cravings. This puff pastry dessert is sure to become a fan favorite, no matter the occasion or holiday!
WHAT YOU NEED-
- Puff Pastry– You can use either store-bought or homemade puff pastry dough! I love using Pepperidge puff pastry dough sheets! Be sure the sheets are thawed before making this dessert.
- Cream Cheese– The cream cheese layer combined with the cherry brings so much added flavor! Regular or low-fat cream cheese can be used. Be sure to use softened cream cheese!
- Sugar– To sweeten the cream cheese, you want to use granulated sugar. You can use brown sugar instead if you prefer.
- Vanilla– Adding vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to the cream cheese enhances the flavors. Adding vanilla is not necessary.
- Cherry Filling– For the cherry part of this Danish, this recipe calls for canned cherry pie filling. Either classic or sugar free filling can be used, if your grocery store offers the more fruit canned filling, I recommend getting that, the original cans sometimes do not have a lot of cherries.
- Egg Wash– The golden and shiny Danish comes from the egg wash! You want to use an egg whisked with a splash of water.
- Icing– Top these pastries with a sweet sugar icing! All you need is powdered sugar and a dash of whole milk!
HOW TO MAKE CHERRY CHEESE DANISHES
This cherry cheese Danish recipe comes together so quickly and is so easy to make!
- Remove the puff from the freezer and allow it to thaw at room temp.
- Meanwhile, prepare the cream cheese mixture by blending it all together with a mixer.
- Preheat the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Dust your workspace with flour and unfold the puff pastry. Roll out slightly, to create a 9×11 rectangle. Cut the sheet into 6 even sized triangles, cutting along the folded lines.
- With a small knife, gently score into the dough, creating a border about 1/4 inch from the edges. (Do NOT cut through the pastry.)
- Then with a fork, poke a few holes in the middle of the pastry, this will allow the border to rise higher than the center.
- Repeat with the other sheet of puff pastry. Transfer the 12 sheets to the lined baking sheets.
- Divide the cream cheese mixture among the 12 pastries, using about 2 Tbsps for each pastry, spreading in the center of the triangles.
- Top the cream cheese with about 2 Tbsp of cherry filling, repeating with all the pastries.
- Transfer to the fridge and allow the pastries to chill for at least 15 minutes before baking. (For the best results, you do not want to skip this step. If you don’t have time, no worries.)
- Using a pastry brush, brush the outside edges or border of the pastries with egg wash.
- Bake until the pastry is crispy and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Dust with powdered sugar and drizzle the Danishes with icing. (Adding the sugar icing is totally optional.)
- Serve warm or chilled.
FILLING VARIATIONS
You don’t have to just limit yourself to a cherry filling! You can swap out for different flavored pie fillings, such as:
- Apple Pie
- Blueberry
- Berry Medley
- Strawberry
- Peach
- Blackberry
- Raspberry
- Lemon Crème
| Pastry Shape– You can totally change up the shape of the Danishes! Instead of rectangles, make them round, oval, squares, or even heart shaped! |
TOPPING IDEAS-
These are totally delicious when just dusted with powdered sugar, but you can elevate then even more with more toppings:
- Sliced almonds
- Shaved chocolate
- Streusel Crumble
- Powdered sugar
- Sugar glaze
SUGAR GLAZE
Elevate these pastries more by topping them with a sweet sugar icing!
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until a thick icing consistency forms.
- Drizzle over the pastries.
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
Yes! Assemble the pasties up to the chill time and instead of chilling for 15 minutes, keep them in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Then just brush with egg wash and bake! Bake time might be a little bit more but bake until the pastries are a dark gold.
Yes, you do not want to skip the egg washing step. This step gives you shiny and golden pastries!
You can totally air fry these pastries, it will just need to be done in batches. Add the assembled pastries to the air fryer basket, not overlapping any. Bake at 325°F for about 8-10 minutes, or until golden and puffy. Remove and repeat with the rest of the pastries.
Yes! Make these like the classic Starbucks cheese danish and only add the cream cheese part.
I always make sure I either get a can that says more fruit, or I buy two cans in case the first can has more glaze than fruit. I like to add more fruit and just a little bit of glaze.
Allow the pastries to completely cool at room temperature and then cover to avoid them from drying out. Store at room temperature for 1-2 days and in the fridge for 3-4 days!
Yes, once the Danishes are cooled, wrap individually in plastic wrap and then add to freezer safe bag and freeze for 2-3 months.
To eat, just remove the pastry from the freezer and let it thaw and then reheat in the oven, toaster oven, or air fryer.
Easy Cherry Danish
Ingredients
- 17.3 oz thawed puff pastry 1 pack
- 21 oz canned cherry pie filling 1 can
Cream Cheese Mixture-
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Egg wash-
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp water
Icing-
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp whole milk**
Instructions
- If the puff pastry is frozen, remove it from the freezer and allow it to thaw at room temperature.
Cream Cheese Mixture-
- In a mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract.8 oz cream cheese, softened, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (9×13 sheets or bigger)
Assemble the Danish Pastries-
- Dust your workspace with flour and unfold a thawed pastry sheet and roll it out slightly to form a 9×11 inch rectangle. (For smaller pastries, you can opt out of rolling the pastry.)17.3 oz thawed puff pastry, 1 pack
- Cut the pastry into 6 even-sized triangles, using the folded lines as a guide.
- Repeat this with the second pastry sheet, giving you a total of 12 triangles.
- Using a small knife, gently score a 1/4-inch border around the edge of each triangle. (Do not cut through the pastry, just create a light indentation.)
- With a fork, poke a few holes in the center of each triangle. (This helps the border rise higher than the center.)
- Transfer the 12 pastry triangles to the prepared baking sheets.
- Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly among the 12 pastries (about 2 tablespoons per pastry), spreading it in the center.
- Top each with about 2 tablespoons of cherry pie filling.21 oz canned cherry pie filling, 1 can
- Place the sheets with the pastries in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes. (This helps give you puffy and beautiful pasties during baking.)
Bake the Danishes-
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg and a splash of water to create an egg wash.1 large egg, 2 tsp water
- Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the egg wash onto the outer border of each pastry.
- Bake the pastries at 400°F for 18-22 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden brown and crispy.
- Once baked, remove the Danishes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Dust the pastries with powdered sugar. Optional: Drizzle with icing if desired for extra sweetness.
- Serve warm or chilled, as preferred.
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